Prediction

Trump Family Has Held Deal Talks With Binance Following Crypto Exchange's Guilty Plea — WSJ

Trump-Backed World Liberty Financial Could Be Part of Binance Deal, Sources Say — WSJ

Changpeng Zhao has been pushing Trump administration to grant him a pardon — WSJ

*For the Trump family, a stake in BinanceUS would give them the opportunity to participate in the potential revival of a onetime competitor to Coinbase.

*Binance executives saw a potential legal playbook in the saga of Justin Sun who invested $30M in November in World Liberty Financial becoming its largest investor as he faced civil charges from SEC. Last month, the SEC asked a court to pause its fraud lawsuit against Sun and three of his businesses. After Sun's investment, Binance executives internally debated following the same route: a cash infusion into World Liberty Financial in exchange for a pardon for Zhao, the person familiar with the discussions said: WSJ

Changpeng Zhao 'CZ': I have had no discussions of a Binance US deal with … well, anyone.

Update: WSJ story came as a surprise to BinanceUS’ interim CEO Norman Reed and the rest of the executive team ---according to the source close to BinanceUS, CZ is trying to sell at least a portion of his majority stake in the BinanceUS: Unchained

*A pardon could clear the way to combine Binance and its U.S. arm, turning them into one global company. It would also open doors in the EU.

*Steve Witkoff (top negotiator for the war in Ukraine) has been involved in the talks for a deal, Witkoff could also be a beneficiary if the deal goes through World Liberty Financial: Witkoff & his two sons are co-founders of the business, along with the Trumps. An administration official denied Witkoff's involvement and said he is in the process of divesting from his business interests. Witkoff has said he stepped away from the company after taking on his White House role.